Upon hire, direct support staff are required to be current in Adult First Aid and CPR. During their first month they have an Orientation Day training where they will learn about our Mission, Vision, and Values, Basic Policies and Procedures, Reporting and Mandatory Reporting Procedures, Infection Control/Bloodborne Pathogens and Universal Precautions, Sexual Harassment Guidelines, Title 17 & 22 Client Rights and Grievances procedures, and Self-Advocacy Philosophy Training.

Within their first six months here each new staff has an individual weekly meeting with their Program Director or Supervisor who trains them in more detail to the policies and procedures found here at Southside.

During the first few months here, our new hires will receive the following mandatory training:

• Professional Assault Crisis Training (Pro-ACT)

During their first two years, our direct support team new employees will receive the following additional training to better round out their knowledge and skills:

• Additional Abuse Prevention Training
• Bi-Annual Sexual Harassment Training
• Business Ethics Training
• Ethics of Touch Video Training by Dave Hingburger
• Non-Aversive Behavior Support Techniques
• Tri-Annual Defensive Driving
• Self-Advocacy Group Training

During their weekly staff meetings, other various training strategies are trained by their Program Director or Associate Director as needed.

On an ongoing basis, staff will receive training in Person Centered Planning, recertification of Adult First Aid and CPR (every 3 years), and meeting facilitation as well as the opportunities to attend various conferences and seminars related to the field.

In 2006, Southside Art Center started working with the Arc of California to provide an additional online training source called the College of Direct Support. Staff are given hours during the week to go through multitudes of a variety of online lessons and courses designed to help the Direct Support Professional to learn best practices in serving adults with developmental disabilities. Each course completed provides certification for the employee that can be counted towards Continuing Education Units and/or College Credits (if they sign up to be enrolled in universities offered by CODS). The additional training, certification of staff and the ability for staff to take their completed

course certification with them to future employment has started to empower our staff to become even more qualified with the variety of people with developmental disabilities we serve at Southside Art Center. For more information on how to enroll your program in this great online resource, please see the College of Direct Support Web page at the Arc of California Web site.

Finally, Southside Art Center likes to appreciate our hard working direct support workers through various special funds and incentives. We provide incentives for employees who refer successful new employees as well as incentives for employees who refer successful new recycling customers. Annually we celebrate our staff by taking them out to our Annual Summer Family Picnic. Recently, we celebrated by taking staff and their family members to a fun-filled day at Roseville’s Sunsplash Waterpark. Southside understands that is with the help and dedication of our hard working direct support workers that the participants at Southside grow and become fully fledged citizens. Southside Art Center is proud of our staff and the training components given to them that make them one of the best set of direct support professional in this greater Sacramento region.